A tethered horse left on a grass verge by a road in Uxbridge on Sunday (November 2) was reported to the RSPCA - which is campaigning for laws to solve the problem of fly grazing.

The horse, discovered in Victoria Road , is now being cared for at a nearby stable.

Neighbours were concerned for the mare after it had seemingly been abandoned in the road.

The act of leaving horses on someone else’s land unlawfully without their permission is known as fly grazing, and is said to have become worse in recent years due to the cost of keeping horses and a decline in the horse meat market.

The stable owner now caring for the horse - who asked not to be named - said: “She was very thirsty, full of worms and had scabs all over her.”

The RSPCA told Get West London : “Unfortunately, this is not an unusual situation. There are currently widespread issues involving neglected, abandoned and fly grazing horses in England and Wales.

“The RSPCA alone has more than 700 horses in its care and receives about 500 complaints relating to horse welfare every week, many of which involve horses grazed on other peoples’ land.

“We are campaigning, alongside other equine charities and countryside organisations, for new laws which we believe could improve animal welfare as well as providing a framework that will help landowners, local authorities, the police, charities and local communities to solve the problem of fly-grazing and horse welfare.”